The housing market boomed over the course of the pandemic, with virtual property listings and TikTok house tours becoming the deciding factor in the buying frenzy.
Whilst swiping on property portals is fun, solely relying on online listings has given rise to an increasing number of catfish properties and frustrated homebuyers. Research by property portal MoveStreets found that 71% of recent homebuyers encountered a catfish property during their search.
But what are catfish properties, you ask? A catfish property refers to properties that don’t look like their pictures. The size of property and rooms are the most common catfishing problem buyers experience, with outdated furnishings and even location also coming into play.
Adam Kamani, CEO and Co-Founder of MoveStreets, says: “While house hunting, it is important to remember that an estate agent is paid to sell. Any worthwhile agent will invest in making sure the property photos are top-notch and the description does a great job of selling the property - even if they do have to exaggerate the truth a little.”
Ross Counsell, Chartered Surveyor and Director of Good Move feels: “Catfishing is becoming more and more common in the property market, due to a surge in demand for properties and buyers becoming desperate to get their foot on the property ladder."
To save you from the misfortune of wasting your time, we asked some property experts to give their top tips on how to avoid being catfished during your home search:
1. Be sceptical of online pictures
Paul Wheatcroft, Property-expert and Account Director at My Local Mortgage says: “Check out the floorplan to get a feel for the size and layout first. Then, look at the listing history of the property. If the property looks significantly different from previous images, and there’s no mention of any renovation work, then it’s likely that the images have been falsified."
2. Make sure the address is genuine
This might seem like an obvious one, but check that the address of the property actually exists before you spend hours researching it. “Often, if properties are in a run-down or bad area, they will be listed online as being in a different area or not listed properly at all,” asserts Ross.
3. Vet the estate agent
Not every estate agent is as credible as they might make themselves out to be. Do your research to make sure that they’re legitimate, and try and arrange a meeting with them in person to verify that they are who they say they are.
4. Arrange to visit the property
More and more people are beginning to put down money on properties that they haven’t even viewed. “Go and get a feel for a certain area yourself as there’s no substitute for personal experience,” says Adam.
“It might be more laborious, but you have to invest time into visiting properties to find the right one. If you aren’t in the area and are unable to visit the property yourself, get someone else to visit on your behalf,” echoes Paul.
5. Don't communicate solely through email
Cybersecurity risks and hacking have plagued the online property market with many fake listings manned by scammers with fraudulent email addresses. To avoid getting scammed, always click on the responder’s email to check that it is legitimate.
“Ring the estate agents directly rather than rely solely on online communication. Scammers often monitor email exchanges between buyers and agents after they’ve hacked into your account, meaning that they can criminally dupe you into making down payments,” warns Paul.
